Trent Dabbs
Quite Often

On his debut album Quite Often, Mississippi native Trent Dabbs
performs an accomplished set of AAA ("Adult Album Alternative") pop that
frequently recalls the music of Rufus Wainwright, Josh Rouse, and Damien Rice.
More daring and creative than typical singer-songwriter-oriented fare, Dabbs
incorporates subtle electronica elements into the background of his mid-tempo
rock compositions, and the results are ethereal. On January Lights, the
cool percussion swells along with synth effects to invoke a textured U2 sound.
Owing much to the influence of David Gray, The Love Goes is another
winner. In addition, Dabbs’ artistic versatility is displayed nicely when he
shifts into Beatles-derived territory on Yesterday’s Apology and utilizes
crunchy Weezer-like guitars on the album’s heaviest cut TV Jealousy. Even
better, at 10 songs that span a mere 35 minutes, the listener never gets a
chance to grow weary of Dabbs’ alluring style.